Each year, Steve Barcak invites HPP to run a Pavement Pounders Shootout during his Pontiac Heaven show and drag race at Speedworld Dragstrip in Wittmann, Arizona, and each year we take him up on his gracious offer. For 2011, we’ll present some great Pontiacs over the next few issues of HPP. For our first go-round, let’s meet the racers and their machines.

2/11

Tim Corcoran brought his ’65 LeMans (with a Tempest grille to reduce weight) from his home in nearby Phoenix. The A-body runs a potent 473ci 455, backed by a Turbo 400 and 3.73:1 rear gears. This combo runs solidly in the mid-10s. However, his engine has seen many street miles and track passes. Will it perform up to Tim’s expectations for our Shootout?

John Marble trailered his ’68 Firebird in from Tucson, Arizona. With 541 cubes, a Powerglide, 4.30:1 gears, and steamroller-sized rear slicks, John is currently running in the mid-9s. Will weather and track conditions allow him to maintain that performance?

3/11

Weather Report

During the Shootout, the temperature rose from 76 degrees to a high of 93 degrees. Humidity dropped from 21 percent down to 13 percent, as did barometric pressure, from 29.78 to 29.65 hg over the day. Density altitude was calculated at 3,700 feet.

Given this weather information, we will provide corrected e.t.’s and trap speeds to chart the theoretical best performance at sea level, and we’ll do on the best pass only, based on e.t.

At 58 years old, Tim has served in the Air Force Reserve as a crew chief on F-4 fighter planes stationed in Thailand during the Vietnam conflict, was an FAA inspector, and is currently an aviation consultant. He’s been racing his ’65 LeMans for 16 years. “When I was in the Air Force back in the ’70s, I had a very sweet ’67 GTO, and as the story goes, I started a family, had children, and sold it for something more practical,” Tim tells HPP. “Over the years I missed the GTO, but by 1994, they were getting pretty expensive. I found this ’65 LeMans and fell in love with it.

5/11

“The same day I bought it, I pulled the engine and trans, and started looking for a 455 to replace the 326. After installing a 455 and Turbo 400, and making a few modifications, I took it to Carlsbad Dragstrip and it ran a 12.36 in the quarter. It was very exciting to get the car in the low 12s the very first time on the dragstrip.” It has since progressed to a 10-second ride, with Tim doing all of the engine and suspension work. “What I like the most is the excitement of lifting the front wheels off the ground and going down the quarter-mile,” he says. “Though I have been working in aviation for over 40 years, I love cars much more than planes.”

With 31 years of racing under his belt, 47-year-old John knows how to get a Pontiac down the track in a hurry. The owner/operator of a lawn and garden equipment sales and repair business, he decided back in 1994 that his ’66 GTO was too heavy to go as fast has he wanted and he didn’t want to cut up the body for big tires. Enter a ’68 Firebird. “It’s the first drag-only car that I built and it was heading to the crusher when I bought it,” John recalls. He enjoys, “racing with family and friends at the Pontiac Heaven event, and getting picked to be in the HPP Pavement Pounder Shootout.” Pictured from left to right are John’s nephew Mylan Marble, friend Mike Mastermarino, brother Skip, and John.

“The track conditions were great all day—my Pontiac hooked on every pass,” Tim recalls. Though he didn’t get to tune as much as he would have liked (the Shootout was held during the regular race program on Saturday and he was competing in both), he still experimented with different launch-rpm and shift points. Of the five passes he made, the best came on the second with a 10.58 e.t. at 124.72 mph on a best-of-the-day 1.42-second 60-foot time. “The weather was changing and it got windy in the afternoon, so my LeMans was not as consistent as usual,” Tim laments. Regardless, he says, “I think it’s great to be in HPP and to be able to share my combination with others.”

10/11

John Marble

All in all, John had a very good day at the track. He recalls, “Traction was great, as it always is at Speedworld for Pontiac Heaven!” He concentrated his tuning on launch-rpm, shift points, rear-suspension settings, and timing. His best pass came on the second try with 36-degrees timing, and increases in both launch and shift rpm to 5,500 and 6,500 respectively. Despite a steady headwind, the result was a 1.36 60-foot, and a 9.57 e.t. at 141.20 mph while pushing 6,500 rpm through the traps. John says, “I enjoyed running against the other Pontiacs and speaking with fellow participants about their cars.”

11/11

Conclusion

Coincidentally, both of our participants share Arizona addresses and bought their Pontiacs in 1994. Tim did it to relive his Air Force days with his ’67 GTO. John did it to go faster and continue a family tradition.

Tim’s aviation background makes him detail- and maintenance-oriented with his LeMans. As a result, he has been able to run this engine since 1994. It’s had three different sets of heads and three cranks over the years, but it retains the same block, pistons, and rods as when it began as a 12-second street/strip car. “The engine has several thousand street miles on it and over 1,000 passes. Considering how ‘seasoned’ it is, I’m very happy with how it ran at the shootout,” Tim says.

John explains, “Dad loved Pontiacs and passed that love on to the family. If Pontiac made a truck, I would own one. The closest I could get was a GMC Duramax—early GMCs used Pontiac power at one time I’ve been told. Our family owns ’64, ’66, ’67, and ’68 GTOs. We don’t let them go! Like being in the mafia, once they’re in, they can never get out.”

Whatever your reason for wanting to run quick in a Pontiac, these two combos should be of interest to you.

HPP would like to thank Steve Barcak of Pontiac Heaven, and the management and crew at Speedworld Dragstrip, for their assistance in making this Shootout possible.